Saturday, 5 September 2026
Source ReportersIndependent journalism, worldwide

Health

Tanning (leather)

Tanning bed use linked to increased melanoma risk in teens, study finds

Teenagers who use tanning beds face significantly higher risk of developing melanoma, with research showing they have nearly three times the risk compared to non-users, according to a study by Northwestern University medical researchers. The study found that tanning bed users had more than double the DNA mutation rate in melanocytes — skin cells that can develop into melanoma — compared to those only exposed to natural sunlight.

6d ago

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. 2024 presidential campaign

Pennsylvania measles deaths spark political fight between governor and RFK Jr.

Pennsylvania's first measles-related deaths in decades have ignited a public feud between state and federal officials, as Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro and U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. traded accusations over the role of the contagious disease in the two fatalities. Independent experts say the clash is a symptom of a broader political battle over how to frame the worst national measles surge in more than three decades.

6d ago

Asian conical hat

Nepal-China flood rescue teams dig through mud as barrier lake levels fall, 558 people still missing on Chinese side

Rescue teams worked through mud and debris on Friday in Himalayan communities devastated by catastrophic flash floods along the Nepal-China border, as the confirmed death toll rose sharply and Chinese state media said the water level of a newly formed barrier lake has fallen 10 metres (32 feet) from its Thursday morning high point, easing but not eliminating fears of further flooding downstream.

6d ago

Mexican drug war

US cyclospora outbreak tied to Mexican-grown lettuce now spans 20 states, sickens more than 11,400

A parasitic foodborne outbreak linked to recalled iceberg lettuce has now reached 20 U.S. states, federal health officials said Thursday, confirming 11,458 cases of cyclosporiasis in what regulators describe as the largest U.S. outbreak of its kind on record. The case count is up from roughly 10,900 reported a week earlier. The Food and Drug Administration said government scientists have identified newly affected states in Georgia, Tennessee and Texas, expanding the geographic footprint of an investigation that began earlier this summer.

28 Aug 2026

2026 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election

Pennsylvania reports first US measles deaths of 2026, both in unvaccinated patients

Two unvaccinated residents of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, have died of measles, state health officials announced on Tuesday, marking the first US deaths linked to the virus in 2026. State Health Secretary Dr. Debra Bogen offered condolences to the families and warned that the public had grown unfamiliar with a disease that was largely eliminated in the Commonwealth for more than three decades. "People are not familiar with this disease and don't fully understand the potential severity of the illness," Bogen said.

27 Aug 2026

If—

If only people knew what a tick could do - the deadly meat allergy caused by tick bites

Mammalian meat allergy (MMA) is emerging as a significant health concern along Australia's eastern coastline, with health experts warning of a growing number of cases linked to tick bites. According to Professor Sheryl van Nunen, who first identified the connection between MMA and ticks nearly two decades ago, the allergy is triggered by a sugar molecule called alpha-gal found in tick saliva. After two bites from the eastern paralysis tick, approximately half of individuals develop antibodies to alpha-gal, and of those, 15-20% go on to develop a meat allergy.

27 Aug 2026

ZIS-110

People who live beyond 110 carry unusual populations of cancer-killing immune cells, study finds

People aged 110 years and older have large populations of a rare type of immune cell that can kill cancer cells, according to a study published in Cell Reports and reported by Nature on 19 August 2026. The cells — CD4 cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CD4 CTLs) — might help explain why supercentenarians not only live extraordinarily long lives but also seem largely to fend off diseases of old age such as heart disease, dementia and cancer, though the authors caution a protective role has yet to be proved.

27 Aug 2026

Night

Night owl habits linked to higher heart health risks

A large study has found that people who are more active late at night — when most of the population is winding down or already asleep — have poorer overall heart health than the average person. Research fellow Sina Kianersi of Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, who led the study, noted the issue stems from a mismatch between one's internal clock and typical daily schedules, making it harder to follow heart-healthy behaviors.

27 Aug 2026

Nicotine

Nicotine vapes best chance to quit smoking, major review finds

An updated Cochrane review of the most recent and highest-quality evidence has concluded that nicotine vapes are more effective than patches, gum or pills in helping people quit smoking, the BBC reported late on 25 August. The finding applies only to regulated e-cigarettes that are checked for quality and comply with strict safety laws — not unregulated devices, which the review did not examine and which can contain illicit substances such as spice or THC.

27 Aug 2026

Kerala State Lotteries

First-of-its-kind transplant injects a blind patient's own mitochondria into her eyes

Scientists have extracted mitochondria from a woman's leg muscles and injected them into her eyes in an attempt to treat near-total blindness, reporting the first such transplant performed in human eyes. The procedure caused no inflammation or side effects, but produced only a limited effect on light responses and did not restore her vision. The findings were posted as a preprint on 10 August that has not been peer reviewed.

27 Aug 2026

Robotic surgery

World's First Patient to Undergo Live AI-Assisted Brain Surgery Has Tumour Removed

The world's first patient to have brain surgery with live artificial intelligence assistance has successfully had his tumour removed. Rhys Hibbert, a father-of-two from Bedfordshire, could have lost his sight without the operation, said surgeons at University College London Hospital. The AI tool analysed a video feed of the operation as it happened and advised surgeons on how to avoid crucial but hidden vessels and nerves in the brain, allowing them to safely remove as much of the tumour as possible.

27 Aug 2026

Cancer

Cancer drug conjugates use new 'binding-to-release' strategy to bypass tumor resistance

A new drug-delivery strategy published in *Nature* on 26 August 2026 offers a potential leap forward in cancer treatment: instead of relying on cells to engulf and internally process drug-carrying antibodies, a chemical reaction triggered on the cell surface releases the therapeutic payload directly where it is needed The approach — termed "binding-to-release" (BTR) — could overcome a major bottleneck that has limited antibody–drug conjugates (ADCs) to a narrow subset of tumor targets.

27 Aug 2026

Influenza A virus subtype H5N1

H5N1 bird flu detected in Australia for first time, alarming wildlife scientists

Highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 was detected in Australia for the first time in June 2026, in birds in a remote region in the west of the country, researchers reported in a Nature correspondence published on 14 July. It remains unknown whether the virus has spread to other wildlife, although livestock appear unaffected so far, according to Euan G. Ritchie of Deakin University and Marissa L. Parrott of the University of Melbourne.

19 Jul 2026

Indigenous peoples in Ecuador

Rare Ecuadorian syndrome offers clues to preventing cancer and diabetes, researchers say

Researchers studying people with Laron syndrome — a rare genetic condition that stunts growth to under 1.2 metres — in southern Ecuador have found strikingly lower rates of cancer and diabetes than in the wider population, raising hopes the biology could one day be harnessed to help prevent disease. The findings come from a community in and around Piñas, in El Oro province, home to an unusually high concentration of the roughly 840 people worldwide known to have the condition.

18 Jul 2026

Click

'Click' chemistry assembles cancer drug conjugates in the body, bypassing tumour resistance

Scientists have developed a "modular" strategy that assembles cancer-fighting antibody–drug conjugates inside the body, a step they say could overcome the drug resistance that leaves many tumour patients ineligible for existing therapies. The approach, detailed in Nature, uses a rapid in vivo chemical reaction to build the conjugates from separately administered antibody components, rather than relying on a single pre-made molecule. (Nature:

18 Jul 2026

United States

US hit by largest-ever outbreak of parasite-linked 'explosive diarrhoea'

The United States is experiencing the largest outbreak of its kind in the country's history from *Cyclospora cayetanensis*, a microscopic parasite that causes prolonged, watery diarrhoea, Nature reported on 16 July 2026. Since 1 May, 1,645 infections have been confirmed and more than 5,100 further cases are under investigation, according to Joel Barratt, a molecular parasitologist at Emory School of Medicine in Atlanta.

18 Jul 2026